The Historical Commission on the stage with the host Jan Roß (Die Zeit). Prof. Saul Friedländer was joined via life-feed from California.

The Commission under the tutelage of Prof. Saul Friedländer. (second from right)

Members of the Commission with post-war founder Reinhard Mohn (middle) and Tim Arnold Office of the Chairman of Bertelsmann AG (right).

"Result of the courageous decision to shed a light on the past": The Independent Historical Commission at the press conference in October 2002.

The objective pursued by the Independent Historical Commission (IHC) was to investigate the history of C. Bertelsmann Verlag during the period from 1921 to 1951. The Commission compiled materials from more than 50 Archives to complement the scanty archive holdings from the time. It also conducted two dozen interviews with contemporary witnesses. After three years of research, the Commission presented its 800-page report, which was published by C. Bertelsmann as "Bertelsmann in the Third Reich" (Report: ISBN 3-570-00711-1; Full Bibliography 3-570-00712-X).